Biodegradation - A Boon For Mitigating the Polyethylene Waste

Abstract

Plastic in our environment is a serious threat to the life on earth. Bioremediation is the only way out to mitigate the present problem. Actinomycetes strains from two different locations were isolated within Kerala state. Efficiency of strains for biodegradation collected from both the locations was compared using weight loss experiment. Experimental evidence on the basis of percentage degradation of LDPE strip shows that strains collected from waste dump yard are more efficient degraders of polyethylene waste. (DSR2-24%, DSR1-20%, DSR3- 8%) than those collected from virgin soil. (VSR3-13.2%, VSR2-8%, VSR1-4.8%). Actinomycetes are potential group of microorganisms which can be utilized for biodegradation of plastics. Bio-augmenting the soil with potential degraders will enhance the rate of degradation even more.

Keywords

• biodegradation
• actinomycetes
• bioaugmentation